One man offers his opinions on everything of the geekosphere, and whatever else in pop culture that crosses into its realm. He also does what he can to inject some of himself back into the world, which have giveth so much.

I still haven't made it out to "Earth to Echo" yet, which at this rate I may just have to wait for the DVD. Work has just been crazy and all over the place. I didn't want to talk about it last time, hoping that tensions at work would die down...tensions are still high though, and I want to talk about it. I'm going to be making a habit out of airing out my more casual day to day business before I get on to the point of my post. So...give me a minute here to talk about work before I explain what "Sword, Shield, Dagger, or Pistol" is all about.

So, a couple of weeks ago now, a prank was played out at my work. Not usually a big deal, we play pranks all the time, usually harmless stuff. This particular incident, not so much. I'll preface this by saying that this went down on my day off, so all the details that I'm delivering here are a second hand account. Moving on, one of our guys over in the general QC area had the cap of his water bottle glued down. Harmless enough, unless the glue wasn't given adequate time to set before...let's call my ill fated peer George...gets back to his water bottle and takes a drink...which is exactly what happened. The end result is that the super glue got George stuck to his water bottle. And, as George tried to remove himself from the water bottle, he ripped his lip (sounds worse than it is, but it still earned him a trip to Concentra). What would you to expect to happen after this? The bosses called a meeting for the entire department, our Service department as well. This was essentially a "sus out the culprit" meeting, as well as a "come to Jesus" session to try and get all of us to end our pranking ways. Let's flash forward to now when they have had a chance to review security footage and still not pin anybody as the culprit. Our bosses are still watching us like hawks. George is still accusing my lead of being the culprit (they have a bad history of sorts). And...we're still getting berated with accusations and false evidence. The thing is, we've narrowed down who was in there...and we're pretty sure, as gauged by their reactions to questioning, that at least two of our co-workers over in general QC know who the suspect is, if it isn't one of two of them. One of these guys needs to come forward, if not with guilt than with information, so that management can quit breathing down our necks. Ugh.

Ugh.../rant

Alright, the Sword, Shield, Dagger, or Pistol...with the movie "The Purge" coming out, it kind of makes me wonder what I would do if put in that situation. If, for half a day, everything was legal and absolutely nothing was off limits, what would I do. The way I see it, we all have four options...the Sword, the Shield, the Dagger, or the Pistol. The tactic that I think most people would take as well as myself, if I'm being honest, is the Shield...

...in other words, hide. Lock yourself up nice and tight. Protect your loved ones, your belongings, and your own well being. I'm think Panic Room style, even better if you could go completely panic house. Best let the rest of the world on the outside be animals and opt out of the mayhem and carnage. Another one of the options that I see a few daring individuals taking is the Sword...

...or, the hero. Yea, I see a few brave people volunteering to stay out in the fray to save whatever poor souls happen to get caught outside when the Purge commences. Selfless, a strong sense of justice, and undoubtedly physically fit. I feel like I'm a brave enough person, but not enough to run headlong into the fray on crazy person night. This is probably a few cops, soldiers, and vigilantes that want to minimize casualties of the Purge. You know...the hero. The opposite of the Shield here is the Dagger...

...the crazy person, the psychos that just want to watch the world burn. These are the people that you worry about in the Purge, the people for whom the Purge was instituted. These are the people that are out the to kill, maim, rape, and torture the innocent lives they come across. They have waited all year long to slake their bloodlust, held off all year long so that they can have one night to get everything out of their system. They want to do in one night what Jack the Ripper did over his entire hypothetical career. I'm sure if we all dig deep enough into our past, there is someone that we want to feel some kind of repentance. If given the chance, would you want to be the delivery person of said judgement? I'll admit, I have some dark thoughts at times, but thinking of guilt I'd have to live with, and what kind of person could honestly put a night of these horrors behind them like it was just another day, that's not a crew I want to associate with. There is one more type though, the Pistol...

...more of the opportunist. This is the person that wants to commit crimes of a more non-personal nature. I'm thinking like robbing a bank, or stealing cars...the crimes people commit over wealth and a lavish lifestyle. Hell, how much would I love to walk into a Dodge dealership and steal the keys to a new Challenger SRT Hellcat Edition?

(Answer: Very much do I want to steal the keys to this car. Also yes, this is shameless promotion of my baby Morgan's new little sister.)This is the person that wants to take advantage of the situation in the most advantageous way possible. That's not saying that there is nothing to gain by staying in, watching a movie and maybe...not dying, but if you could put a little planning a forethought into your specific endeavor, you could certainly stand to improve your position quite a bit. I could see myself as this individual during the Purge, if there was something that I sincerely wanted badly enough to risk my chances of encountering the crazies out there that night.

So, what role do you think that you would fill, the Sword, the Shield, the Dagger, or the Pistol? I'd be very interested to find out what you think you would be doing the night of the Purge. Again, if I'm being honest, if the Purge was going down within like a week or something...as much as I'd love to be able to wake up the next more with a new car in my half driveway and a few more bucks in my pocket, what I'd really be doing is finding out how to best barricade my house shut, so that none of the crazies stand a chance of getting in.What about you? Are you feeling heroic? Are you feeling greedy? Feeling a little...crazy?

By the way, this post is in no way a promotion for the film, I never saw the first one, probably won't go and see this new one...this was just more of a mental exercise.Also, if you caught on that the shield, sword, dagger, and pistol were all game elements, bonus points to you.

I know this has been a short one, but I think that I'm going to call it quits there. Hopefully more for you next week. Till then.